How To Save A Life
by BaileyRaeXOXO
Summary: When Haley finally realizes what's missing in her life, will she do anything to change it? Will she let something besides work make her happy, even if that happiness could bring on more pain?
1. Chapter 1

_**How To Save A Life**_

_The Fray - Songfic _

_**Chapter 1**_

_Where did I go wrong?_

_I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up, with you all night_

_Had I known, how to save a life_

The lyrics continued to roam throughout the house as Haley followed the beat on the piano. She is currently in one of the spare rooms of her large, but moderate, city home. When she isn't working, Haley spends all of her time at home, savoring the moments she has to herself. They are rare, but she appreciates them.

Work takes up most of her life. She is a big time doctor at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. The hospital is one of the top hospitals in all of New York City, with some of the top doctors in the country.

To become a doctor, at least eleven years of school is required. But Haley was different. After spending three years at Stanford after high school majoring in Health & Medicine, she was invited to the Presbyterian University on a full ride in New York. The university had top reviews, so she couldn't pass up the offer. She ended up taking the offer and moving out to New York. She studied for a little over two years there until she was finally offered a job. She'd start out as an assistant to one of the top doctors. Once she progresses, she works her way up the line.

It only took a few months for Haley to impress everyone. She was soon promoted to work with the higher doctors such as; Cardiologists, Neurologists & Oncologists.

Her dream was to become a Cardiologist, like her father. She wanted to follow in his footsteps and make him proud, and it's what she planned on doing from the day she lost him.

Haley's first job in the big time area was with a Cardiologist, the top in the hospital. This job would determine her eligibility of becoming one of her own. She ended up doing so well that she was promoted without a second thought. Everyone was so blown away with her talent. The way she was with the patient astonished everyone.

Her patient was a middle-aged man with heart problems. Congestive Heart Failure. He needed a transplant right away. It was a dangerous and somewhat long process, but Haley, along with the Cardiologist and a few others managed to do it. She was more than helpful and actually ended up doing most of the work. The man was finished two hours early and made it to a full recovery. That was the event that led to her success.

Haley is now a Cardiologist herself. She specializes in a few other things too, which is why she has almost no free time.

At twenty-three, Haley's life is completely full. She doesn't mind though, saving lives is much more important to her. She is known to have the biggest heart by all her friends, family and co-workers. She dedicates all her time to strangers in need of help. She deserves awards, and she got them. In the years she's been working up to becoming a Cardiologist herself, she has been awarded many awards. They ranged from her patience & grace, to expertise, and all the way to her kind heart.

Haley is a very happy woman.. Sometimes. She can't help but feel, empty. Like something is missing in her life. She knows exactly what that is. Love.

She is very familiar with the word. She loves her family, and her friends. But the love she wants is the one creating this hole in her heart. She's never truly loved someone. The romantic kind of love.

Sure, she dated and had boyfriends, but nothing serious. Work comes first, so there's no time.

Her mother often teases her that she'll be the "40 Year Old Virgin" sitting home all alone with tons of cats. Haley just laughs it off. She doesn't want to look too much into it.

Her mother, Lydia, is always like this with her children. Haley is the youngest, the last one left, and the baby. She is also the only single one out of her siblings.

Her sisters, Quinn and Taylor, each have a man of their own. Quinn is happily married with a baby girl of her own, and Taylor goes from boyfriend to boyfriend, but is never single. Haley could care less, but her mother cared a little too much. But then again, she was just looking out for her baby girl.

Lydia has to play roles, mother and father, so she is much more.. Persistent with the whole dating world.

Haley's father passed during her junior year of high school from cancer. He was a heavy cigarette smoker. He smoked most of his life. Lydia and the rest of the family were completely against it, but once addicted, you can't just easily give it up. He tried many times using the patches, gum, even treatment. It was too late. He developed lung cancer. It was too severe to treat, so he went slowly and unfortunately, painfully. It was the saddest thing Haley ever had to watch. She was extremely close with her father, they did everything together. He even brought her to work whenever he could. Haley loved the hospital.

He worked as a Cardiologist with other side specialties. He worked as a Pediatrician for the longest time. He was amazing with kids. He also specialized as a Nephrologist, working in that subject mostly. He went back and forth. He was the most loved guy at his hospital in California. It was hard on everyone to lose him. But Jimmy was never forgotten.

Haley was determined to live up to his name. The James name. She would work up to where he was. Make him proud, because she knew he was watching his little girl.

That's when she decided to take on the challenge and work up to where she is now. Unfortunately she didn't stay in California to work in the hospital her father did. She moved on to bigger things and is now in a much bigger place. But she promises to follow his legacy and return to his former work place.

But as of right now, Haley is going to continue her job in the city.

She currently works as a Cardiologist with the side specialty in the Oncologist business.

She worked in the heart major after her father and cancer kind of drew her in after her father passed. She couldn't bear to look at the people with cancer and not help. Especially if they had the chance. Her father didn't, and if he did she would have done everything she could. But that wasn't the case. She knew she needed to help the ones that did.

So, she took on that challenge as well. Working day and night towards her goal.

Haley is a very determined woman, to say the least.

As Haley sat in her piano room, playing the current tune, she is lost in her thoughts. It is early morning on her day off. Also, the anniversary of her fathers death. The hardest day she has yet to face every year.

She sits in this room all day and just, plays. She plays for her father, she knows he is listening. He is the only one who knows of her talent.

Haley can play piano like a pro. She pretty much taught herself. She even sang along to the tune of herself playing occasionally. And she wasn't bad, wasn't bad at all.

During the late nights her father worked, she spent all her time in the piano room of the house she grew up in. The rest of the family would be fast asleep, and it was a large enough house that could block the music from carrying to the rest of the rooms, which she was glad for. She just wanted something to herself. Something that could be hers.

When her father returned from work, she would be waiting for him. She usually sat in the kitchen on a tall bar stool, waiting patiently. He would come home and they would indulge in a large bowl of cookies n' cream ice cream, their favorite. It was always late, around one in the morning late, but that didn't matter. She couldn't sleep when he was out.

Jimmy discovered her talents one night when he was let out early. He came home to Haley sitting at the piano, playing away beautifully. She sang along as well. He listened for a while, watching his gracious baby girl. She turned around and turned bright red, a bit embarrassed that her father had caught her. But he was proud, and he let her know that. From then on, she would usually play and sing for him when he returned home. It soothed his aching, tired bones after a long day of work. A bond too strong for words formed between the two. Haley was the happiest girl in the world, and Jimmy was a proud father.

The night replayed in her mind;

_Haley sat at the large Grand piano in the spare room of her family's house. It was another late night for her father. She played with the keys for awhile until a song came across her. Once familiar with all the keys, she began to play;_

_Where did I go wrong?_

_I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up, with you all night_

_Had I known, how to save a life_

_She sang along quietly, pressing the keys to the beat of her favorite song. Once the song finished, she smiled to herself, and slowly slipped off the stool. She turned and noticed her dad in the doorway and her face immediately blushed. She didn't think he would be home for a while longer._

"_Daddy, what are you doing here?" She said in a light tone, embarrassed_

"_Watching my baby girl rock the piano, who knew?" He smirked, walking over to her._

"_No one, and it was supposed to stay that way." She frowned, plopping back onto the stool._

"_Why pumpkin? Why keep this to yourself?" He sat down next to her, putting his arm around her._

"_I don't know, I guess I just never thought I was good enough. It was only for fun." She shrugged. "Do you think I was okay, daddy?" She asked in an innocent tone._

"_I think you were amazing. I knew I'd have at least one rock star daughter!" He joked, pulling her into a side hug. "I loved it, honey." She smiled wide to that. "Can I hear more?" He asked as he turned them around to face the piano._

"_I guess.. But don't laugh." She pointed to him and he put his hands up to surrender._

"_I promise." He stuck his pinky out "Pinky promise.." She smiled and laced her pinky with his. Then placed her fingers on the keys and began to play. His smiled couldn't have gotten any bigger._

When Haley lost him, her whole world fell apart.

That's the reason she turns to work. It made up for the lack of her father in her life.

Today, the anniversary of this death is a tough one. She continues to play away for him. Nothing else matters today.


	2. A side note

Hey everyone!

I'm sorry but this is not a chapter update, but you can expect one soon.

This is to clarify things going on in the story's first chapter..

I had an authors note and everything all typed up in the document, but for some reason it's not showing up on the actual chapter that you have all read. I think I know what the problem is, so it shouldn't happen again. I'm letting you guys knows here in this little insert so that things can get cleared up.

This is going to be a Naley story, of course. It may take a little time for them to get there as a couple, I still don't have that planned out, but they are definitely going to be in the story together. The next chapter I haven't decided if I'm going to make it all about Nathan and what's going on with him in the story, or not. But we'll see. I might write tonight and plan it all out. If so, the next chapter will be up tomorrow.

This story will probably be quite a few chapters long if it goes the way I'd like it to.

Chapter updates will be at least once a week. But no promises. School goes back soon, which is gonna suck, and my job takes up most of my time. But I've been very inspired lately and don't want to leave anyone hanging now that this is actually posted.

I can't stand unfinished fanfics, lol.

But anyways.. Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2012 treats you well.

I thought I'd introduce myself here. My name is Bailey Rae, I'm 17, and a OTH/Naley lover at heart. Naley is all I read, and all that I write, lol.

Thank you for the reviews and alerts so far, they made me so happy and definitely gave a bit of inspiration to continue.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to inbox me.

And also, I would LOOVEE a beta if anyone has the time or interest.

Please & thank you.

Update coming soon!

xoxo


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow. It's been awhile. I suck, I know. I promised I wouldn't do this, and even complained about all the unfinished stories, and look at me, the hypocrite. I'm so sorry. I'm not even gonna blab about my excuses. At this point, I just blame my laziness and lack of motivation. Anyway, here's my second chapter! I actually wrote it back then right after my first and didn't like the way I took things, but you know what, why not? YOLO right? Anyway, I'm gonna make this story how I want it, what I know will please. It's pretty OOC, I'm sorry, but it's what always what I wished for in Naley. So if you don't like it, I understand. Thanks for giving it a shot. And if you do, great. Leave some reviews if you please on what you'd like to see. It would really help. With no further ado, chapter two. And thanks to my wonderful boyfriend, Midnightwriter95, for inspiring this story and for getting me to post this :) Xoxo BRB**

**Chapter 2~**

The loud ringing of a cell phone is what triggered Haley up the next morning. She slowly turned over, tangled all up in her sheets, and went to grab the phone on the side table next to her bed. She squinted her eyes at the time before checking who the caller was.

"This early?" She thought to herself. It was almost 7 am that Monday morning. Work! Haley had work that morning. She rolled her eyes at the name that flashed across her iPhone screen, then quickly ignored the call. There were quite a few other missed calls along with around twenty text messages. She shook her head as she shot up out of bed. She grabbed the towel off the back of her bedroom door before rushing into the bathroom and starting up the shower. It was another chilly morning in New York. She was so sick of the cold.

Once the water was at a bearable temperature, she stepped in. Closing her eyes, she sat under the steamy, hot water, letting it relax her muscles.

It was then that she felt an insane migraine coming on. She sighed, realizing it was payback from last night. Haley knew she shouldn't have had that much to drink, and now she gets to pay for it. It was just a weak moment for her, and she couldn't stop.

"Being depressed and lonely sucks", she thought to herself.

Once she was fully relaxed, she began to wash her hair and lather her body in soap, rinsing off once she was finished. She rung her hair out before stepping out and grabbing the towel in front of her, that wasn't there?..

She could've sworn she set it down before getting in-

It was then that she looked up, noticing him standing there with that smirk on his face, holding her towel. She jumped to cover herself.

"What the he-?"

"Nice to see you, too." He cut her off, now smiling wide. Her face was probably a tomato red color by now. It was just like him to do this.

"Nathan, what are you doing here?" She asked in a harsh tone as she used the curtains to cover her dripping body.

"Why haven't you been answering your phone? Everyone's been looking for you, you were supposed to be in work an hour or so ago."

"I over slept! Sorry! Now can I have my towel and can you get the hell out?" She asked furiously.

"Now why would you want me to go?" He asked as he stepped forward a bit, that same smirk on his face. She was getting really tired of this. He was always pulling stunts like this. She rolled her eyes. Jackass.

"Give me my towel, NOW!" She screamed angrily at him. He put his hands up to surrender and stepped forward again, holding out her towel. As she stepped out completely, he snatched it back, laughing. She reached over and grabbed the nearest thing to her; the air freshener can on top of the toilet. She threw it his way hard, but her dodged it. She shook her head and leaned down, opening the cabinet under the sink and grabbing out a spare towel. She wrapped it around herself and walked over to him, glaring up into his eyes. He was very tall, about 6'3 with big baby blue eyes. He was dressed in his typical black slacks and a white button up shirt, covered by a black leather jacket.

She eyed him up and down.

"Checkin' me out, Hales?" He winked, doing the same to her. She rolled her eyes and bumped his shoulder before walking passed him into her room.

"You can leave now." She said casually while grabbing a few items of clothing out of a dresser drawer.

"Awhh, kicking me out so soon? But we haven't even started yet.." He whined as he leaned against the door frame, facing her now. She shook her head and walked over to her closer, pulling out her outfit for the day.

"I'm serious, Nathan. You weren't invited over, you're never invited over, I don't know why you keep coming here like this." She sighed, walking back over to her bed and setting the clothes down. "I need to get dressed and to work, and so do you, so go." He frowned playfully, stepping towards her.

"But I'm already dressed, unless you'd like to change that?" He winked again, sitting on the edge of her bed and grabbing the bra she had set down. She snatched it away right away, clenching her other fist to her side. Haley then grabbed all her things off the bed and stormed off to her bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Hmm.. Maybe later then." He shrugged

"GET OUT!" She screamed as loud as she could.

"Fine.. See you at work, babe." He answered playfully before heading out of her place and back to work. Haley finished getting ready in the bathroom, now fuming because of Nathan. The nerve of this man.

Nathan Scott is her co-worker. They are both Cardiologists and were placed together to work as a team. It didn't start off so bad, till they got to know each other more. They've only been working together for a few months, but they attended the same college, Presbyterian University. They were both taken out of the colleges they were in, Stanford for Haley, Duke for Nathan, to attend this university. They had a few classes together, but they never really talked. Haley focused on her work, while Nathan focused on something else.

Nathan was your typical jock back then, and still is. He did the same things in college that he did in high school; partied, drank, and slept around. Haley knew of him back then, and could care less. She wasn't going to blow her chance of becoming what she's always dreamed of being. She kept to herself.

Haley and Nathan had the same medical classes together; Anatomy & Patient Care. They also shared the same math class; Probability & Statistics.

Haley was top of the class. She is a very smart girl, so she always excelled. She was also valedictorian of her class in high school. She even tutored on the side. Nathan on the other hand slacked off, procrastinated, and rarely did his work. If it wasn't for his scholarship offer to play basketball at Duke, he never would have made it.

Basketball was all Nathan had going for him. He played his whole life. He was good, really good. He took after his father, Dan Scott, the great basketball player. After about a year at Duke, Nathan's career felt as if it was fading away. Basketball wasn't everything he expected it to be. His father pushed him through it in high school, and now that he's finally where his father wanted him to be, it just didn't seem worth it. Basketball wasn't what Nathan wanted. Was it ever? He often thought. So he finally gave it up. His father was furious; to say the least, but what say did he have in it now? Nathan is a grown man.

The scholarship was for basketball, and once he gave it up, it disappeared. Luckily, he had his savings to keep him there. His mother, Deb, also invested in him. She was so proud that he finally gave up the sport that tore the family apart in the first place.

His parents divorced back when he was in high school. The constant arguing about basketball and the way he was being raised broke them. Nathan got out sooner than the couple did though. He emancipated himself from the two during his junior year. He went to live on his own. Nathan got a job and supported himself. Shortly after, his parents finally called it quits. Thank God.

Nathan always had an interest in medicine and doctor types of things. He watched a lot of Discovery Health on his free time, when there was any. It was his guilty pleasure. He never told anyone, until he finally decided to pursue the career. He changed his major to Health & Medicine. He spent about 2 years studying that till he was offered a full ride to the Presbyterian University in New York City. He could not pass that up, especially since it was a full ride, and the price he was paying now for everything at Duke was a bit outrageous. He jumped at the offer and went right for it. He moved to the city from his small apartment in North Carolina. It was hard to leave his friends, but they understood the amazing chance he was offered.

Nathan and Haley never officially met. They were partnered up a few times, but Haley would blow him off and do it on her own. He offered to help, but she would refuse. She knew his reputation, and hated it. She couldn't even stand the sight of him and that smirk he always had across his face. He was known for it. She wanted to stay as far away from his drama as she could. There was one occasion that stuck out between the two. Nathan was doing really badly in his Probably & Statistics class, the class he so happened to share with Haley. He was so close to flunking out completely that he was desperate for anything. He confronted Haley, asking her to please tutor him. Knowing Haley, that didn't go over too well. She turned him down. He offered money, items, anything. He really needed help. After about the millionth time he asked, she finally caved, just to get him off her back. Haley tutored him for about a month.

They grew close, told each other things. But they were never the right things. Neither shared their past with each other. Haley didn't like opening up, and neither did Nathan. They kept it strictly math. He'd occasionally make a lame joke or hit on her, but that was him. She'd brush it off and get back to work. They never looked into anything else.

It didn't turn into anything else until they were partnered up for work.

It's only been a few months now and they've gotten used to each other. Nathan is constantly messing with Haley, as if it were a tutoring session from back in college. He can't take anything seriously, but at the same time he can. He's a mess. Haley will never understand him.


End file.
